A couple of new comedy programmes confirm that the vogue for celebrities willing to display a sense of humour is showing no sign of abating, writes Rob Sharp

Lindsay Carol is a radio DJ at the achingly hip London station Skin FM. He wants to hang around with the in crowd, but goes to the wrong nightclubs. He spends his days trying to sleep with Miquita Oliver and meeting acts such as The Charlatans, Ladyhawke, Sway and The Wombats.

This could be a day in the life of any Xfm or Radio 1 employee. But it is the plot of 2009's answer to Nathan Barley, FM, a sitcom to be broadcast for six episodes on ITV2 next month. Starring The IT Crowd's Chris O'Dowd, this deeply funny satire is the highlight of a raft of shows to be televised this year in which high-profile figures from the entertainment world, everyone from Tim Westwood to Justin Hawkins of The Darkness, present themselves, and the lives of those around them, in a less-than-appealing light.

"Tom and James met Matt and Charlie when the two pairs of friends were recruited to play the part of Stiff Dylans, a fictional band in the film adaptation of Louise Rennison’s cult novel Angus, Thongs & Full Frontal Snogging. Halfway through filming, the band realised they had something and got on so well that they formed the band in real life.

....The band have also been writing with former Darkness frontman Justin Hawkins, whose career from Ikea jingle writer to multiple-Brit-winning rock god was, like Perry, based on the ability to wedge a song inside your head. “For the first hour of working with him it was very new for all of us,” Tom remembers. “Just observing the way he worked was fascinating, plus he laid on a nice sushi lunch.”"